Jim Hanly;

I'm sorry. I posted a new thread : The original sin of the direct market system.Then I noticed your thread that hasn't had replies since Last month.
Nevertheless I'd like your imput if you have the time.
PS_I am the same persone as Ammarx1917 At the TCJ message Board.

[This message has been edited by Ammarx (edited 01-26-2000).]

I just thought I should mention that the second part of Bob Beerbohm's history is out in the new Comic Book Artist. Irecommend it highly to all,

Jim:

When and where did the first chapter appear?

Gary:

Part one was in Comic Book Artist #6. Let me know if you need a copy.

I've enjoyed the first two. Bob is Bob, of course.

I just looked over a draft of the third part that Bob sent me, since it involves the Donahoes and other stuff I was involved in. He gets it pretty much right.

I just stumbled across this thread while looking for something else. I occurs to me that many who haunt comicon.com these days probably weren't around when it first ran.

It seemed worth resurrecting as I'd like to hear what the assembled masses might add.

Thanks for the resurection. I didn't even notice that the dates were from last year. There seems to be a lot of knowledge that is individually known by some who were there, that us peons who wern't really like to hear about. i hope that the memories of the past continue to flow.

Ok, I was going to lurk like I usually do, but Gary C. calling me corporate goes too far. Gary, seems to me I've seen you in a coat and tie from time to time as well.
A few pieces of history--
1.I think the connection from Big Rapids to Ingram you're thinking of was through Prairie News. They were an alternative magazine distributor that came up around the time Big Rapids went down and were eventually acquired by Ingram as the core of their magazine distribution operation. I'm not aware that Prairie paid Big Rapids anything for any assets, but may have picked up some accounts when Rapids went down.
2.The underground connection to distribution is largely as mentioned, but there were other companies involved that sold undergrounds as well as Marvels and DCs, including Longhorn Books, for example. If I put my mind to it or sat down with John D., we could probably come up with a pretty good list of the Big Rapids subdistributors, most of whom carried both undergrounds and Marvels/DCs.
3.Big Rapids as a tough company is very accurate--it often operated a lot like a street gang. BRDC vs. Windy City was an interesting combination. I was a member of about an 8-man crew that staged an inventory repossession raid on Windy City at their Chicago warehouse. There was no violence, but it was a tense and potentially explosive situation.
4.I don't think BRDC ever took over Well News; it's my recollection that they were still around when we started Capital.
5.As far as anybody interviewing the Big Rapids guys--good luck. I think Kennedy and Kwant should be out by now but I don't think I'm going to look them up.
6.Going to the broader questions of the fate of the comics business--The pulp comic format is a prisoner of its content and distribution. Content that is impossible to comprehend without immersing oneself in the continuity is why books are up and periodicals are down in the comics business. Declining newsstand distribution is both a reflection of the decline of newsstand distribution in general and the total inappropriateness of most comic periodicals for the type of consumer reached by newsstand distribution. Bookstores, e-commerce booksellers (and a few specialty sites), and brick and mortar stores that carry a range of pop culture products beyond comics are the new growth engines for the comics business.
7.Watching Carol Kalish get deified after her death has been an interesting experience. She was one of the smartest people ever in this business, was devoted to the comic specialty market, and could be a warm and pleasant person, but she was also stone-cold tough. I just got a chill; I think she's listening.

Over-all a very interesting thread--nice to hear from some old friends. Jim H., thanks for letting me know it was here. Jim F., nice to hear from you with your great perspective. There's a million stories in the Naked City; I'm tempted to start writing mine down.

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Milton Griepp
President
http://www.icv2.com

Milton, please do.

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Comic Relief: THE Comic Bookstore

Milton, I want to apologize if you consider my calling you "corporate" an insult. I certainly didn't mean it that way. I always have and continue to respect your business acumen.

Good luck with your newest incarnation of Internal Correspondence.

Best wishes to you and your family.